TY - JOUR
T1 - Experience corps Baltimore
T2 - Exploring the stressors and rewards of high-intensity civic engagement
AU - Varma, Vijay R.
AU - Carlson, Michelle C.
AU - Parisi, Jeanine M.
AU - Tanner, Elizabeth K.
AU - McGill, Sylvia
AU - Fried, Linda P.
AU - Song, Linda H.
AU - Gruenewald, Tara L.
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by the National Institute on Aging at the National Institutes of Health (K01 AG028582 and K01 AG028582-S1 to T. L. Gruenewald and P01 AG027735, which funded the BECT), the Johns Hopkins University Urban Health Institute (Graduate Student Community Grant to V. R. Varma and S. McGill) and the Memory and Aging Training Grant (5T32AG027668) to V. R. Varma. Additional sources of support for the BECT include the John A. Hartford Foundation and the Johns Hopkins Older Americans Independence Center under National Institute on Aging (P30-AG02133 and R37-AG19905).
Funding Information:
The authors would like to acknowledge Carolyn Gulas for her assistance in coding of the qualitative data and David Maron for his assistance in the recruitment of focus group participants and assistance in administration of the focus group sessions. The authors would also like to thank Lisa Bleich for her remarkable skill in facilitating focus group discussions. The authors would like to acknowledge the Greater Homewood Community Corporation, Intergenerational Community Services, Experience Corps National, Civic Ventures, the Baltimore City Public School System, the City of Baltimore, the Commission on Aging and Retirement Education, the Baltimore City Retirees Association, AARP, the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation for their ongoing vision and support of the Baltimore Experience Corps Program and associated research activities.
PY - 2015/12/1
Y1 - 2015/12/1
N2 - Purpose: Experience Corps (EC) represents a high-intensity, intergenerational civic engagement activity where older adults serve as mentors and tutors in elementary schools. Although high-intensity volunteer opportunities are designed to enhance the health and well being of older adult volunteers, little is known about the negative and positive aspects of volunteering unique to intergenerational programs from the volunteer's perspective. Design and Methods: Stressors and rewards associated with volunteering in EC were explored in 8 focus group discussions with 46 volunteers from EC Baltimore. Transcripts were coded for frequently expressed themes. Results: Participants reported stressors and rewards within 5 key domains: intergenerational (children's problem behavior, working with and helping children, observing/facilitating improvement or transformation in a child, and developing a special connection with a child); external to EC (poor parenting and children's social stressors); interpersonal (challenges in working with teachers and bonding/making social connections); personal (enjoyment, self-enhancement/achievement, and being/feeling more active); and structural (satisfaction with the structural elements of the EC program). Implications: Volunteers experienced unique intergenerational stressors related to children's problem behavior and societal factors external to the EC program. Overall, intergenerational, interpersonal, and personal rewards from volunteering, as well as program structure may have balanced the stress associated with volunteering. A better understanding of stressors and rewards from high-intensity volunteer programs may enhance our understanding of how intergenerational civic engagement volunteering affects well being in later life and may inform project modifications to maximize such benefits for future volunteers and those they serve.
AB - Purpose: Experience Corps (EC) represents a high-intensity, intergenerational civic engagement activity where older adults serve as mentors and tutors in elementary schools. Although high-intensity volunteer opportunities are designed to enhance the health and well being of older adult volunteers, little is known about the negative and positive aspects of volunteering unique to intergenerational programs from the volunteer's perspective. Design and Methods: Stressors and rewards associated with volunteering in EC were explored in 8 focus group discussions with 46 volunteers from EC Baltimore. Transcripts were coded for frequently expressed themes. Results: Participants reported stressors and rewards within 5 key domains: intergenerational (children's problem behavior, working with and helping children, observing/facilitating improvement or transformation in a child, and developing a special connection with a child); external to EC (poor parenting and children's social stressors); interpersonal (challenges in working with teachers and bonding/making social connections); personal (enjoyment, self-enhancement/achievement, and being/feeling more active); and structural (satisfaction with the structural elements of the EC program). Implications: Volunteers experienced unique intergenerational stressors related to children's problem behavior and societal factors external to the EC program. Overall, intergenerational, interpersonal, and personal rewards from volunteering, as well as program structure may have balanced the stress associated with volunteering. A better understanding of stressors and rewards from high-intensity volunteer programs may enhance our understanding of how intergenerational civic engagement volunteering affects well being in later life and may inform project modifications to maximize such benefits for future volunteers and those they serve.
KW - African American
KW - Focus groups
KW - Qualitative research methods
KW - Stress & coping (anxiety & agitation)
KW - Volunteerism & civic engagement
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U2 - 10.1093/geront/gnu011
DO - 10.1093/geront/gnu011
M3 - Article
C2 - 24589989
AN - SCOPUS:84964579643
VL - 55
SP - 1038
EP - 1049
JO - The Gerontologist
JF - The Gerontologist
SN - 0016-9013
IS - 6
ER -